Pages

Monday, September 7, 2015

Alphabet Book-Making Kids' Craft

Who wants to
make a fine motor skill-building alphabet book? Here’s the inspiration behind
this kids’ craft: When my son was in kindergarten his teacher made him (and the
other students) sit and write letter after letter as a way of building fine
motor skills and learning the alphabet. When he got home from his brief
half-day of school he had homework. To sit and write more letters – over and
over and over and over again. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t anywhere near fun. It
wasn’t even in the same zip code as fun.

I’m not
saying that all learning has to be fun. But, why go only with rote work at such
a young age? Yes, I get the educational rationale behind what my son’s teacher
was doing. That said, the end result wasn’t that he learned his letters (he had
actually mastered the alphabet in preschool) or that his penmanship grew to
become perfect. What was the result? He began to hate school. At 5-years-old he
hated school. That just shouldn’t happen. If your child isn’t into the rote
work, you can always add a bit of creativity into his home learning. This doesn’t
mean that you have to home school. Just add a few extra lessons during the
course of your day, week or month.

Book-making
is a favorite kids’ art activity of mine. This one helps your child to build
fine motor skills and learn letters – all without writing them over and over
again. It’s also reusable, so it’s not a onetime deal. It’s built out of other
school supplies. If you happen to have some extra folders (or other school supplies)
left over, you can use these for this project.

Here’s What
You’ll Need:

·A
plain manila folder – It can be any color of paper folder.

·Clear/clear
colored folder dividers

·Construction
paper

·Pipe
cleaners

·Scissors

·A
hole punch

·A
marker

·Felt/fabric
scraps

·Modeling
clay

·Optional:
Other ‘building’ materials such as twigs, pebbles, beads or anything else that
can shape a letter.

Here’s What
to Do:

1.Line the clear dividers up with the
folder – making the left edges even.

2.Punch three holes in the folder where
the holes are in the dividers (if your dividers don’t already have pre-made
holes, punch them out now).

3.Repeat with the construction paper.
You need one clear divider and one piece of paper for each letter.

4.Stack the alphabet book together with
a clear divider on top of each piece of paper.

5.Cut the pipe cleaner in half. Your
child needs three halves.

6.Thread a pipe cleaner through each
set of holes, twisting it together at the ends to bind the book.

7.Starting with the first piece of
construction paper, write the letter A. Either you or your child can write the
letters, depending where he is with his writing. Make the letters large size
and legible.

8.Use the book! Start with the A. Flip
the clear sheet over the letter. Your child can build the letter on top of the
drawing, with the divider separating it. Use clay, put pieces of felt/fabric
together or use another building material. Clear the letter off and repeat for
the other ones.

Are you
looking for more kids’ crafts? Follow my Pinterest board for ideas!

Follow Me On Pinterest

Erica Loop is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.